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7 Financial Challenges Of A 24 Year Old

I'm a twenty-something and I know a bunch of twenty-somethings. I have noticed struggles and challenges among people my age and I decided to share.

Everything at once

We're just starting out in out "adult life" which means we have nothing but want everything. We need a new professional wardrobe to match our new career. We would also like to buy a house, furnish it and the list goes on! So much needs, so little money!

Credit

Because of all of those needs listed above, you might want to get a credit card or a car loan. The problem is that you need to get approved which can be a challenge when you're just out of college with a contract job.

Student loans

We don't always have a decent job to pay them back. That can be a problem.

Job instability

That's the main challenge I'm facing. As I'm entering a teaching career, I don't know how many contracts I'm going to get which means I have no idea what my income for the next year will be. That's kind of annoying when your planning on buying a house in the next few years!

Moving around

This one comes with job instability for the most part. Moving for a new job is pretty typical and it's expensive. From renting a truck to getting new curtains because the windows in your new apartment are obviously a different size than your previous ones, moves are never cheap.

Relationship instability

While some people will find their life partner in their early twenties (or even before that!), it will take longer for others which means DATING. I'm not claiming that dating is expensive (I don't think it should be by the way) but breaking up can be, especially if you had moved in together. It's also harder to make plans for the future and to save money for them when your significant others tend to become insignificant.

Kids

Even if we're not at this stage of life yet (I'm certainly not), a lot of us will have their first child in their mid-twenties. Kids will change every aspects of our lives (in a good way for the most part) and will definitely have us reconsider our budget!

Have you experienced one of these challenges? How did you overcome them?

16 comments:

I wish I were 24 again! The struggles are real, but so are the joys! You sound like you're a smart one! I hope you can work through the hard parts and that when you're older you can look back without any regrets!

I am 24 too, and I really related to this post! I like the commenter above me who said she was so focused on what she eventually wanted, she forgot to enjoy being 24. That was a great reminder for me today.

I feel ya on most of these. I'm done with college, but am in med school, so my student loans are compounding like no other. :[ I'm currently single + don't want kids, so at least that part's not as much of a factor (it'd be nice to eventually find someone awesome, but what with this moving all over the country thing, I just can't do it, haha. ._. ).

I combat these by keeping track of my budget. I never go out to eat, and I make all my meals + maximize free food opportunities. I go shopping maybe 2-3x/year, and I like to barter when I can (e.g. playing piano for events in exchange for food and/or money), haha. :P

Yup, yup, and yup. I'm soon graduating college but already engaged, so I'm nervous about being on my own while with someone else. I don't want to immediately be dependent on someone...I want to still be comfortable with the ropes myself and be financially independent!

The moving expenses and having to buy new curtains speaks to me on a molecular level. Honestly, when you're on a tight budget, those things ADD UP! I want to have a comfortable, stylish place to live, but it really costs to have a house (or apartment) full of furniture and little decor ditties.

The other thing is that I don't want to invest in a piece that might not be used in our new place when me move again. I can't wait to have my own house so I can decorate knowing I will live there for years!

We are about to move pretty soon and will experience the need to buy everything all at once (fridge, car, washing machine--shopping galore!)We're preparing by saving a good chunk of our current paychecks and making the most of this 'cheap' season of life because we know an expensive one is coming!